The research evidence on security alarms

[Adsibob]

On 29/10/2021 at 09:59, SteamyTea said:

Make sure that if you have a safe, your sister does not loose the number/key, just in case your mother looses the ability to communicate.

Think I will be using and angle grinder a lot this weekend.

We had this nightmare last night. At 9pm, only 14hr before an international flight, I go to retrieve the passports from  our safe only to find out that the key is not where I left it. 120 minutes of frantic searching, first for the keys, then for an emergency locksmith, available late at night on the last working day before Christmas. What a mess.

He turned up c. 11pm and managed to get into the safe by drilling through the cylinder, after first unsuccessfully trying to pick it.

Horrible experience.

 This morning my six year old admits to having “played with the keys in daddy’s drawer”. I’m so stupid. Should have set up the key code, rather than just rely on a key it turns out my daughter had access to…

[SteamyTea]

11 minutes ago, Adsibob said:

At 9pm, only 14hr before an international flight

 

11 minutes ago, Adsibob said:

120 minutes of frantic searching

An hour less than the check in time before a flight.

 

I hate flying.

[Adsibob]

The whole experience has made me rethink our decision not to get a burglar alarm.
 Can anyone recommend an alarm that is good enough to get you a discount on your home insurance, and reliable in terms of not triggering false alarms. Something with minimal wires would also be good.

[JohnMo]

30 minutes ago, Adsibob said:

Can anyone recommend an alarm that is good enough to get you a discount on your home insurance

I would actually ask them to quote for approved alarm and without, I did a few years ago and not one penny of difference. But having the alarm meant you had to follow a given set of rules to ensure you got paid if you were robbed. 

 

To be approved you cannot self install, it has to be a professional install, with appropriate certificates and managed and serviced.

[Adsibob]

1 hour ago, JohnMo said:

I would actually ask them to quote for approved alarm and without, I did a few years ago and not one penny of difference. But having the alarm meant you had to follow a given set of rules to ensure you got paid if you were robbed. 

 

To be approved you cannot self install, it has to be a professional install, with appropriate certificates and managed and serviced.

 

I just ran two quotes on compare the market dot com for buildings and contents insurance. 

With the details of our house WITHOUT an alarm, the quote is £150 a year CHEAPER than the exact same details WITH a fully approved professionally installed alarm. In other words, the insurer considers a house in our postcode with an alarm to be a riskier risk than the same house without.

 

[Adsibob]

And amending the inputs to a self installed alarm, or an alarm that was professionally installed but not by an approved contractor made no difference, it was still £150 more expensive than no alarm.

 

Is it possible, a burglar may prefer to target houses with alarms, because that way he (or she) knows there are assets there worth protecting, and therefore worth stealing?

Just a possible explanation for the large increase in risk perceived by the insurers.

Edited December 23, 2023 by Adsibob

[joe90]

34 minutes ago, Adsibob said:

Is it possible, a burglar may prefer to target houses with alarms, because that way he (or she) knows there are assets there worth protecting, and therefore worth stealing?

Just a possible explanation for the large increase in risk perceived by the insurers.

I agree and unless you have anything of sentimental value good insurance is my advise.

[Iceverge]

@Adsibob

 

Burglars are like investors. They aim for the best return available with the least risk. 

 

Most have little interest in your passports. They're too hard to fence, connect you directly with the crime and get you involved in a much riskier level of criminality. 

A stolen family's passports might cost you £1000's to replace in time, effort and stress, but for most normal thief's they're not worth the effort. £20 on a window sill is a much better prospect.  

 

If I was a criminal I would look for. 

 

1. Someone with cash handy in the house like someone who regularly made an ATM withdrawal for example or with a flash Rolex. 

2. Crappy windows or doors that could be easily shouldered in. Remember 10 locks is no good if the frame is made of rotten timber. 

3. Someone who made it obvious when they were at home, like parking their car in front of the house in plain sight, broadcasting about their upcoming holiday or leaving the bins out for a week when they're away. 

4. A house with a hidden rear entrance that I could work at without observers. 

 

An alarm wouldn't make much difference if I could see Mrs Smith's handbag with her pension inside, on the kitchen countertop. I'd be over the hills by the time anyone noticed. The cops would never donate enough resources for a £100 crime to catch me. If the door was unlocked and I just took the cash she may not even report me. A video doorbell or camera can be defeated by a £2 face mask, most dogs similarly with a square of cheese. 

 

Things I would avoid. 

 

1. A property that had nothing easy to sell. An owner who didn't use cash or have fancy electronics or jewellery/watches. 

2. A house with a door that would take an axe to break down or make a racket doing so. 

3. A house that I could never be sure if someone was at home or not, a radio on a timer for example.   

4. A house that any nefarious external activity would be observable. 

5.  Having no easy escape routes, like an isolated county house down a long lane or a top floor flat. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited December 23, 2023 by Iceverge

[joth]

Forget trying to find an alarm that will pay for itself through insurance discount. The only reason to do it for insurance is if you have expensive items/collections (art, jewellery, antiques etc) that they simply won't insure at all without a graded alarm. Think £50,000+ value items. 

And even then the alarm and the insurance will cost a leg

Like owning a super car.

 

If you want monitored with police call out, the make of alarm is irrelevant the price is dominated by the mandatory maintenance and monitoring service. And this depends on the local installer competitiveness.

 

For everything else it's just to make some noise for peace of mind. Last two times we were broken into we were nearby or in the house asleep, and the one false alarm since installing the alarm (different house entirely) the neighbours and the remote alert on my phone were enough to get eyes on the property very quickly and avoid a total ransacking.

 

The biggest frustration for installing an alarm (DIY or pro) is if you have pets roaming everywhere 

[SteamyTea]

4 hours ago, Adsibob said:

With the details of our house WITHOUT an alarm, the quote is £150 a year CHEAPER than the exact same details WITH a fully approved professionally installed alarm. In other words, the insurer considers a house in our postcode with an alarm to be a riskier risk than the same house without.

Or the installers are selling your house plans and content lists, along with extra information like dog ownership.

[Adsibob]

@joth sounds like you have experience of burglaries. Sorry to hear this. I’m not really bothered about monitoring or anything fancy. I’m just considering whether to get something to deter a long burglary as opposed to a short one. I don’t think the presence of an alarm is a deterrent to an actual burglary, but it may hasten the crime if the intruder gets in. That certainly was the case in respect of the burglary I witnessed in broad daylight across the road. Although it was clear the thieves were only after the keys of the Audi Q7 parked in the drive. My car’s a Seat Ateca so hopefully much less blingy.

 

We don’t have pets at the moment, but will be getting a dog in a couple of years (a soft a cuddly one, not a guard dog, although an American Akita would tick both of those boxes), so something that was limited to door and window sensors might be good. I’m thinking of the Ring system, just because I am already on their ecosystem for doorbell and cameras, the app works well, and the kit is well reviewed. The only thing I don’t like is that all our windows and doors are black and Ring only supply white door/window sensors, unless you go for the outdoor rated stuff which is much chunkier and unnecessary. What systems do people have and what do they like/dislike about them?

 

 

[TonyT]

Just spray the sensors to suit the decor.

 

ive done this with CCTV to blend them iin

[Adsibob]

1 hour ago, TonyT said:

Just spray the sensors to suit the decor.

So if I wanted a RAL 9005 coloured spray, would that be possible? Anyone able to recommend a brand?

[JohnMo]

You can get colour mixed spray cans to RAL codes. Sorry been a while since I purchased, I just did a Google search. You can get 2K acrylic, which is very wearing and not dangerous to use. You can also get different gloss levels.